As Global Entrepreneurship Week Nevada approaches, we’re thrilled to feature Melissa Robinson-Winemiller, author, speaker, trainer, and a pioneer in empathetic, results-driven leadership. Melissa’s deep emotional intelligence and strategic growth expertise have helped leaders transform their businesses by aligning core values with measurable success. Known for her data-informed, human-centered approach, Melissa brings insights invaluable to entrepreneurs aiming to grow responsibly and build lasting connections with their teams and communities. This interview allows us to learn from a leader who embodies the intersection of purpose and progress.
Your work focuses on empathy and the emotional intelligence quotient.
How can entrepreneurs incorporate these values into their customer
experience to build lasting, trust-based relationships with their audience?
I’ve found that when a leader has empathy and EQ as a part of who they are, both
naturally become part of their mission and values, which, in turn, becomes part of the
customer relationship. These things trickle down from the top, even when
people don’t realize it.
And, honestly, empathy should be the first step in any customer relationship just
as it’s a critical component of any relationship. If empathy is, at it’s base, a way of
connecting and relating to people, it would be critical to have empathy just to
understand your customer base. And that doesn’t mean in a soft and fluffy way but
rather as a way for us to understand each other, which includes customer needs.
Business gets done in the business-to-customer relationship. A business can do that
best and turn the biggest profit by understanding the customer, and empathy is a
powerful way to do that.
Purpose-driven leadership is a powerful force for change but can also be
exhausting for the entrepreneur. What advice do you have for leaders
passionate about their mission but struggling with burnout?
Burnout is certainly real, and it brings me back to starting with self-empathy. It’s
an often used cliché, but it’s like how airplanes tell people to put their own mask on
before helping others. If you can’t help yourself first, you can’t help anyone else, and
it’s the same in business. If an entrepreneur burns out because of a lack of self-
empathy and self-compassion, then they lose the opportunity to bring their business into
the world. It may seem selfish, but it’s absolutely necessary for a greater, long-range
purpose. Business is a marathon and not a sprint, which means taking care of yourself
to be able to cross a finish line that’s a long way off.
In a world where many companies are “purpose-washing,” how can
purpose-driven entrepreneurs genuinely communicate their values to
customers and stakeholders without coming across as inauthentic?
I believe it really is as simple as talking the talk while walking the walk. When
people are inauthentic others can tell, and much of that happens when words and
actions don’t match. And, especially in this era of social media, Reddit and Quora, and
rapid information, people can find out the truth quickly. It’s not just a matter of
communicating values verbally, but really living those values in both the big and small
actions. If those at the top do that, then others see and understand what the real
values, and not just the spoken values, are.
For instance, I’ve worked with an organization that made a big deal about being a
family, and when Covid happened all of the top leadership took pay cuts to be sure they
didn’t have to let anyone go. They went beyond just saying what they stood for. They
took action that was congruent with what they were saying. In the end, it’s the small
actions that lead up to a bigger perception, and a tone that can only be set by those in
the top spots. Consumers are savvier now more than ever and can smell inauthenticity
in organizations.
For leaders who want to drive social impact and profitability, what steps
can they take to ensure their company stays aligned with its purpose
while achieving sustainable growth?
The thing that I’ve seen trip up organizations that want to make both profit and
social impact is to allow the small decisions to become unaligned with their purpose.
There’s always a point where a leader will have to decide between purpose and profit
and, honestly, if they choose profit over purpose once, it’s easier to do it again. On the
other hand, if they believe in their purpose and that’s the priority, then profit becomes
the by-product of a purpose-driven enterprise.
The other main word here is ‘sustainable’. If a purpose-driven company grows too
fast to be sustained by the profit coming in, then it’s not sustainable, and there will be
that time that leaders will be torn between profit and purpose. In a sense, it’s sort of like
the question on burnout. If a purpose-driven organization burns itself out by growing too
fast, then it’s lost the opportunity to bring its light to the world. It needs to take care of
itself first, and that means staying true to its primary purpose and not letting a desire for
growth overtake smart purpose-driven decisions.
You’ve worked with many different leaders and entrepreneurs. What is
the most common mistake purpose-driven entrepreneurs make when
trying to scale their business, and how can they avoid it?
One major mistake I see is leaders being unable to think as a bigger organization,
despite their desire to be one. They become very comfortable with the metrics, the
actions, and the mindset of a smaller business and, when it comes time to scale up, are
unable to think like a bigger enterprise. In essence, it’s like wearing clothes that are too
small and constrict growth, but yet being unwilling to move to a larger size.
One example of this is data use. The data that serves a smaller organization well
isn’t going to give the same information to a larger one. Different ways to collecting,
disseminating, and understanding data is necessary, usually on a longer timeline. It
requires leadership to think about what their data needs really are however, and not to
stick with the same metrics just because they’re comfortable.
The other mistake I see is an inability of purpose-driven entrepreneurs to give up
some of the control as an organization grows, even though they’re unable to be as
involved as they were at a smaller level. This goes beyond delegation and includes a trust that people will be as careful with their creation as they were. This is especially
true in purpose-driven organizations because there’s a heart element to the business.
However, they need to trust that if they’ve set the right tone for values and mission and
put the right people in place, that they can be trusted to carry the torch and allow the
business to grow. I suppose, in a way, it’s like trusting children to go out on their own.
You give them the right tools and set the values in deep, and then trust them to do the
right things because you can’t (and shouldn’t) micromanage them for the rest of their
lives. They’ve become too big.
In your experience, what is the role of empathy in building a resilient,
purpose-driven brand that can adapt to challenges and thrive in a
constantly changing marketplace?
In a way, empathy is at the core of change, because if someone is feeling empathy
within the business/customer relationship, then they are tapped in to changes in
customer ‘temperature’. And, if someone is paying attention in that manner, resilience
and adaptation are easier because you already have an inkling of what’s coming.
Interestingly, empathy can work in larger groups as well as on a person-to-person basis,
so it’s perfect in understanding a constantly-changing marketplace.
And on a competitive level, an organization that’s able to move in tandem with
customers in this way has a huge edge on those that don’t. It can almost seem like
magic, or mind-reading, but the truth is that it’s simply being aware. Sometimes that
awareness through empathy is on an emotional level, but sometimes not. It’s just a
matter of how you use it.
There’s so much more to empathy than most people realize, and it’s actually the
perfect tool for any person-to-person understanding, even in larger groups. There’s
actually 43 different kinds of empathy, and the one where ‘I’m feeling what you’re
feeling’ is only one.
We can use empathy to attach to emotional intelligence on a much
broader scale than people realize, and use it in ways for the betterment of everyone
while achieving greater profit, productivity, and innovation. Despite its reputation, it’s
anything but soft and weak, and the thing that businesses of any size that want to be
competitive during this time of great change need more than ever.
Melissa Robinson-Winemiller’s insights remind us that empathy isn’t just a leadership asset—it’s essential to building a lasting business. As she shares her expertise, entrepreneurs gain more than just strategies; they’re equipped with a mindset that blends purpose with practical, impactful action. Through her work, Melissa shows that meaningful growth happens when leaders stay grounded in their values while reaching for innovation. Her approach is an inspiring roadmap for anyone ready to lead authentically and create change that resonates far beyond the boardroom.
Preorder Melissa’s book here. View Melissa’s YouTube and contact Melissa. Book an appointment here